Top dog sniffs out crime

Mark Kent poses with Rusty - and Rusty's awards, earned for sniffing out narcotics. Joyce Roberts photo Outside Wachusett Regional High School on a recent sunny morning, Mark Kent is throwing a stick for his four-yearold chocolate lab Rusty, commending his retrieval, patting his head. Rusty, by all evidence, is your typical laid-back family dog.

But Rusty is wearing a badge and so is Kent, no ordinary pet owner. Kent is a lieutenant in the Worcester Sheriff's office K-9 unit and, together with Rusty, the two have logged an impressive record of sniffing out serious drug caches.

Their accomplishments haven't gone unnoticed. Rusty recently took first place in the U.S. Police Canine Association Region 9 competition competing against 60 other dogs, and has also been awarded the Ferland Family Award for the top score for an indoor narcotics search.

It's quite a source of pride for Kent, who has been Rusty's handler since the dog was six months old.

The two are frequently called out to help Holden's police department, where Rusty helps sniff out suspicious situations.

Lifeskills class members enjoy a visit from Rusty and Mark Kent, as do criminal justice students and just about anyone at the high school who runs into him. Joyce Roberts photo Rusty is a single-purpose dog whose job is to sniff out illegal drugs. He's been trained to find all kinds of drugs, from heroin to marijuana to crystal meth. Chocolate

labs are uniquely suited to the task, Kent says. But not every Labrador retriever would pass muster.

"Ninety-percent of dogs wash out of narcotics," he notes.

Among the characteristics they need are persistence, something called the "hunt drive." To that end, Rusty remains un-neutered (neutering, Kent says, reduces their hunt drive).

What's hunt drive?

"He will not quit until he finds [narcotics]," Kent says.

Rusty also has the play drive, like a dog who will fetch the ball as many times as you can throw it.

For Rusty, sniffing out drugs is play; in that sense, he's ready to work all the time.

"It's all a game to them," Kent says.

Like the time Rusty had been visiting the criminal justice program at Wachusett Regional High School and was standing out front with Kent. A car pulled up to pick up a student, and Rusty "indicated" on the car - showing by his behavior that drugs were inside.

On this occasion, it was a lot of drugs. For Rusty, it was indistinguishable from play.

But the work is very serious, and the cost to train the dog is considerable.

So is the maintenance: Rusty has life and health insurance like any other worker.

It's also an investment for Kent to be a K-9 handler. Rusty lives with him and is on call 24-7 to sniff packages for the U.S. Postal Service or UPS or Fedex. He sniffs items seized by the federal or state government, or searches a locale anywhere in Worcester County where local law enforcement feels there could be a stash. Rusty has even informed on drug-tainted money being passed for bail.

In the world of K-9 workers, Rusty is a passive narcotics dog. The stereotypical teeth-bared growling German Shepherd is another kind of dog, also used in police work for crowd control. Bloodhounds, too, are used by police, mostly to track down missing or escaped human beings. There are also bomb-sniffing dogs trained to detect the scent of different types of explosives.

Rusty shows his stuff when told. At Kent's command, he'll follow Kent's hand as it scans a room, a vehicle, anyplace that needs a search. He'll stop and show excitement or sit down when he finds what he's looking for.

At age four, Rusty is now in his prime, past his puppy stage, but not slowing down. In spite of how good he is at his job, Rusty, like anyone else, will have his retirement. As dogs age and lose some of their drive, about the age of nine, they'll be put up for adoption. Their handlers get first pick. Kent has never seen one refuse.

"I can't imagine a handler who'd spend nine years with his dog and then not take him home," he says.